Bracket Briefing: Spotlighting 20 Cinderellas in the NCAA tournament

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North Dakota State Bisons head coach Saul Phillips celebrates with the team on the floor after the game against the Fort Wayne Mastodons in the championship game of the Summit Conference tournament at Sioux Falls Sports.(Photo: Steven Branscombe, USA TODAY Sports)

Story Highlights

The NCAA tournament never fails to deliver with surprises, evidenced by Florida Gulf Coast's storybook run

North Dakota State leads the nation in field goal percentage and is a favorite to become an NCAA darling

Stephen F. Austin is riding a 28-game winning streak and play a similar style to VCU, their second-round opponent

AT THE WATER COOLER: When confetti falls from the ceiling and One Shining Moment plays in the background as a national champion is crowned on April 7, it'll be the culmination of a three-week stretch that starts Tuesday night in which we can expect one thing: The unexpected.

The NCAA tournament never fails to deliver with surprises, evidenced by Florida Gulf Coast's storybook run to the Sweet 16 in last year's Big Dance.

It's that Cinderella moment that perhaps stands just as memorable as Louisville's national championship journey. We don't remember 1999 for Connecticut's championship as much as we remember it for Gonzaga's Elite Eight run. We don't remember 2006 for Florida's first of two consecutive national titles as much as we remember it for George Mason's Final Four run. And so on...

NC Central guard Jeremy Ingram averages more than 20 points a game and could become a March Madness star.(Photo: Mitch Stringer, USA TODAY Sports)

The term, Cinderella can be widely defined, but for argument's sake, the term can fall under this window: A mid-major team outside of a power conference and not from the Atlantic 10 or Mountain West (two in-between leagues) that has a double-digit seed. Basically, a team we knew little about until the tournament that has the ability to captivate us with a oh-no-they-didn't upset.

FGCU's storied run last year wouldn't have happened if the Eagles didn't win the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament. The automatic bids awarded to these teams from smaller leagues have led to some of the tournament's best moments.

"Automatic bids are an absolute joke," ESPN analyst Jay Bilas says of the earned admission tickets to the NCAAs.

Here's a look at the favorites to become NCAA tourney darlings in this year's tournament, ranked based on Cinderella potential and their second-round matchup.

1. North Dakota State: The Bison rank first in the country in field goal percentage. Taylor Braun, a versatile 6-7 guard, could cause matchup problems for an Oklahoma squad that relies too heavily on outside shooting.

2. Stephen F. Austin: This team has the making to be 2014's version of Florida Gulf Coast. Riding a 28-game winning streak and Southland Player of the Year Jacob Parker, the Lumberjacks are dangerous and play in a similar style to Virginia Commonwealth with an emphasis on forcing turnovers.

3. Harvard: Harvard is one of the best defensive rebounding teams in the country, and if Cincinnati struggles shooting — which happens often — and the Crimson continue to rebound well, the Bearcats could stumble. Harvard pulled off an upset in last year's tournament, beating New Mexico.

4. New Mexico State: Steve Fisher has piloted San Diego State to a No. 4 seed, but the Aggies have the capability to pull off the upset, having beaten New Mexico in non-conference play. New Mexico State big man Sim Bhullar, a 7-5 center, will draw major headlines, but Daniel Mullings is the team's offensive sparkplug, averaging 16.8 points a game.

5. Western Michigan: Jim Boeheim will be the first to tell you his team hasn't truly dominated opponents this season, evidence coming in a bevy of close ACC victories against basement teams and a pair of head-scratching losses to Georgia Tech and Boston College. Western Michigan, the Mid-American Conference Tournament champion, won't be the most hyped Cinderella sleeper. But David Brown (19.4 ppg) and Shayne Whittington (16.3 ppg, 9.3 rpg) make for a potent inside-out presence that could counter 'Cuse's matchup 2-3 zone.

6. Mercer: The Bears defeated Florida Gulf Coast in the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament. And as hot as FGCU got last year, Mercer was arguably the better team from that conference. The team is led by Langston Hall, a senior guard who averages 14.7 points and 5.6 assists and shoots 40% from beyond the arc.

7. Louisiana-Lafayette: Junior guard Elfrid Payton can put the Ragin' Cajuns on his back, evidenced by four outings with 30 points or more this season. They face Creighton in the second round.

8. Delaware: Michigan State is a tremendously tough draw, especially if the Big Ten tournament champion Spartans are finally starting to hit their national title groove. There's plenty of ammunition for an upset on this squad, though. Devon Saddler, Davon Usher and Jarvis Threatt make for a lethal offensive trio and one of them could break out. They all average more than 18 points.

9. Manhattan: The Jaspers are coached by former Louisville assistant Steve Masiello and paced on both sides of the floor by senior guard-forward George Beamon, who plays with a pitbull-like aggressiveness and was granted a medical redshirt after missing a bulk of last season with an injury. Masiello runs this team strikingly similar to Louisville, the team's second-round opponent.

10. Tulsa: Coached by Kansas great Danny Manning, the Golden Hurricane enter the tournament on an 11-game winning streak that included a Conference USA tournament championship against favorites Southern Mississippi, Middle Tennessee and Louisiana Tech. James Woodard had 27 points in the C-USA tournament title game and could become a March star.

11. Wisconsin-Milwaukee: The Panthers upset Horizon League favorite Green Bay, a team that would have been a Cinderella favorite had it gotten an-at large bid. Milwaukee has won five games in a row and faces a somewhat shaky opponent in Villanova, a team that was just upset by Seton Hall in the Big East tournament.

12. American: The Eagles are one of the best shooting teams in the country statistically, making 50% of their shots. American's potent offense features four players averaging double-figures. It starts with sophomore guard Jesse Reed, who averages 13.9 points a game.

13. Wofford: The Terriers benefited from an upset-filled Southern Conference tournament that saw three of the top seeds beaten in early rounds. Still, this is a team with upset potential based on a structured motion offense that takes plenty of time off the clock. Guard Karl Cochran can light it up and if this team gets hot and controls the tempo, Big Ten regular-season champ Michigan could be in trouble.

14. Eastern Kentucky: The backcourt of Glenn Cosey and Corey Walden give the Colonels two dynamic catalysts to drive an upset. Eastern Kentucky won the Ohio Valley Conference tournament by beating Belmont, a team that took down North Carolina in non-conference action.

15. North Carolina Central: The Eagles enter the tourney as hot as any team, having won 20 games in a row. They'll face similarly hot Iowa State. Jeremy Ingram is an underrated star in this NCAA tournament. The senior guard averages 20.6 points a game.

16. Coastal Carolina: The Chanticleers have an upset recipe based on depth and defense, two key ingredients for Cinderellas. A 10-man rotation allows Coastal Carolina to excel better defensively and a three-guard attack of Warren Gill, Josh Cameron and Elijah Wilson make this team dangerous on the offensive end.

17. Texas Southern: The Tigers are led by West Virginia transfer Aaric Murray, who averages 21.1 points and 7.7 rebounds. The team's entire offense runs through Murray, who had 48 points in a win against Temple.

18. Weber State: The Wildcats missed the field of 68 last season despite a 30-7 record. This year they'll get their chance, albeit as a No. 16 seed against Arizona. Weber State brought back three starters from last year's squad, including do-everything player Davion Berry.

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19. Brigham Young: Since BYU is an NCAA tournament regular, it's difficult to toss them in the same category as the rest of the teams, but the Cougars haven't been able to put together a Cinderella run yet. After barely squeezing in the field of 68, there's potential for an upset behind dynamic scorer Tyler Haws.

20. Gonzaga: Again, it's not completely fair to put the 'Zags in this mix as this is the program's 16th consecutive tourney appearance. Considering, however, this is the team that captured the nation's attention in the 1990s and the fact that it hasn't been as far as the Elite Eight since then leaves room for a surprise factor.

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Scott Gleeson, a national college basketball writer/digital producer for USA TODAY Sports, is on Twitter @ScottMGleeson.

NCAA TOURNAMENT FIELD OF 68

68 teams enter, but only one can win it all. Check out the entire field for the 2014 NCAA men's basketball tournament. Tony Gutierrez, AP